Man Charged After Threatening Pilot, Flight Attendants and Passengers Before Banging on Cockpit Door Mid-flight

A man has been arrested and charged with threatening behavior on a flight from Miami to New Jersey. 

Luis A. Vaquero was escorted off the plane by law enforcement after he “yelled at” the captain, flight attendants and harassed passengers during the flight to Newark on Sunday, Feb. 9, the District of New Jersey’s attorney’s office stated in a press release. 

The defendant, 27, from Passaic County, N.J., “refused to comply with flight attendant’s instructions, banged on the cockpit door, and called out and threatened the captain before being escorted off the flight by law enforcement to Newark Liberty International Airport,” according to the release. 

Vaquero has been charged by complaint on one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants by assault or intimidation in Newark federal court.

According to court documents filed in the case, Vaquero started to alarm passengers shortly after the plane took off from Miami. He threatened “physical violence toward a disabled minor” and “mock[ed] a group of Jewish passengers.”

The defendant then allegedly told a flight attendant after they refused to serve him alcohol as the beverage service window had closed, “You better watch out, s—-’s gonna happen to you.”  

According to the release, the cabin crew “alerted law enforcement” as the plane pulled in at Newark Liberty International Airport. Vasquez then “forced his way to the front of the plane and began banging on the flight deck door” as he called for the pilot to “come outside.”

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A flight attendant tried to step in to control the situation when Vaquero shouted, “I will really break your f—–’ jaw,” followed by a racial slur, per the news release. The defendant then yelled at the captain “while six inches from his face” before he was escorted off the plane by law enforcement. 

“It all culminated in a terrifying attack and attempted breach of the flight deck when witnesses say he banged on the cockpit door and confronted the pilot,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly said.

“The harrowing flight and other similar incidents onboard airplanes recently are creating tension and fear for fliers and crew members … for those who think it may not be a big deal — they’re breaking federal law, and they will be brought to justice,” Reilly added.

Vaquero faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.